Hi Jody and Erin,
The underlying motivation to go to a Sudbury School is very powerful,
because it is the student's own creation. Therefore the desire to be there
is always present. The Sudbury students often get together when school is
not in session and after graduation. My children were at times miffed that
there wasn't school year round. A Sudbury School is life, community,
choices and empowerment. I have often thought of the model of a tribe when
walking down the path from the parking lot to the school. The sheer energy
and pulse is extraordinary. It is often hard to get the children to leave
so that the building can be closed for the day. How many times did I see
slumped shoulders when my kids saw me coming and realized that it meant the
school day was over? The phenomenon you mention of not choosing to
regularly do something six hours a day, five days a week comes from a mental
picture of the same things going on, day in and day out. The reality is
that, due to the freedom of choice, the student will do something endlessly
until they are through exploring something and then move on to something
else. When my children reached the age of driving themselves, nobody came
home early or stayed home. The other aspect that is probably the strongest
one that made a deep down appreciation grow in me is that the behavior and
creativity level of my children (all three of them) did not slow down or
stop when they got home or graduated. In essence, they were and are still
themselves and loving it.
Carol Hughes

> > Erin Riopel wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I really don't think there's any way to fix the problem of kids having
> > > to be forced to go to school. Even if school wasn't a torturous place,
> > > I don't see why children would *choose* to go there six hours a day,
> > > five days a week. (Unless it was a choice between school or something
> > > else worse.) There are a lot of things I find *fun* but don't choose
to
> > > regularly do six hours a day, five days a week. I just don't see how
it
> > > would be possible to make school so fun that almost all children would
> > > choose to go there almost every day.
> > >
> >
> > I wonder if the kids in democratic schools willingly choose to go there
> > every day, or if they would choose to stay home many more days than the
> > law allows if they could?
> >
> > - Jody
>
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Received on Thu Jan 01 2004 - 14:23:35 EST